Art, Symbol & Imagination
Damayanti and the Bird: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar
A seated woman cradles a pale bird while turning her face towards it. A small tree rises beside an open stream against a warm, softly coloured background. Mazumdar's caption names Damayanti, and the plate gives the tale's encounter with the bird a gentle scale of held bodies and directed gaze. The woman's bent knees make a sheltered place for the small creature, while her lifted hands bring it close to the face. The stream and sparse tree open the setting without distracting from the exchange. Ornament remains subordinate to the quiet relation between the two living figures.
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Citation
Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. "Damayanti and the Bird: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar" [editorial title]. In Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, Sister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Original scan, 1914, George G. Harrap & Co.. Source scan leaf 433. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/hindu-colour-433
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Original source design and caption inspected; composition retained with scan margins trimmed. No reconstructed or recoloured details. Artist credit follows the printed illustration list at active reader leaves 19–20.
Sources
From the book
Myths of the Hindus and BuddhistsSister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy1914More from this book
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Cite this illustration
Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. Damayanti and the Bird: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. Scan leaf 433. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/hindu-colour-433